On Wednesday, police Major Neill Franklin (Ret.), executive director of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), will testify in favor of the federal Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act before the U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions. The legislation would permit financial institutions to work with marijuana-related businesses operating in states where the drug has been legalized.

“If we value public safety as much as we claim to, we need to ensure taxpaying businesses and their employees are safe from theft and personal injury. Knowing that thieves target dispensaries for their cash means there’s something we can do to help. Barriers to banking are needlessly putting people in danger.” – Major Neill Franklin (Ret.), 34-year police veteran of the Maryland State Police and Baltimore Police Departments

LEAP endorses the SAFE Banking Act because federal laws prohibiting financial institutions from working with legal marijuana businesses put law-abiding, tax-paying business owners and their employees in danger. Prohibiting banking access means hundreds of millions of dollars in the above-ground marijuana markets are exchanged in physical cash rather than electronic payments with debit/credit cards. Securely housing and moving large sums of cash from one location to another presents unique challenges, as thieves know marijuana businesses are full of cash, making the storefronts and employees leaving work after hours easy targets. Banking restrictions have contributed to considerable financial loss and horrific incidents victimizing store operators.